Visa, ITI@Zayed University and the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce launch new e.business initiative

Modeled on the world renowned University of Stanford Business Challenge, the Visa Student e-Biz Challenge seeks to stimulate closer working relationships between education, government and industry in an effort to prepare national students for careers within the IT and e-commerce sectors. Entrants in the Visa Student e-Biz Challenge will be provided with the education tools, feedback and contacts necessary to turn their ideas into tomorrow's leading products and business ventures.

According to Dr. Salah Khelfaoui, director of the ITI, "the need for industry, education and government to work more closely together has never been more profound than in this fast moving e-world we are in." Dr. Khelfaoui noted, "the event is set to place the spotlight on talented students who can think 'outside of the box' when it comes to innovation in the context of the business world, and it is these skills that our sponsors will be hoping to see as they use this event as a way of recruiting outstanding students."

Ms Mariam Al Rumaithy, from the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce said, "this is a fantastic opportunity for our local students and an excellent chance for students of the UAE to get access to global thinking straight from the industry professionals. Entrants in the student e.business challenge will be provided with the educational tools, feedback and contacts necessary to turn their ideas into tomorrow's leading products, business ventures and companies. Alternatively these talented students can hope to propel themselves onto a rewarding career within leading companies in the IT world".

The Visa Student e-Biz Challenge has a sizeable and growing sponsorship list of companies eager to support the initiative. In addition to VISA International, the challenge has sponsorship from several leading institutions and companies which have employed early and innovative use of IT. The Bin Zayed Group, Tejari.com, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Zayed University, GTSF, Clientsoft, ES-Gulf, Afcomp, GTS Learning, International Printing Press, Makook.com and the World of Events are all sponsors of the Challenge, and all see tremendous potential in its development and growth.

The event will be officially launched on Saturday, October 20, at the Institute for Technological Innovation at Dubai Media City. Entries can be submitted from this date up to the closing date in January 2002. All information on the Challenge and up-to-date news can be obtained by logging on to the competition web site at www.ebizstudent.com.

The Challenge finale will include a gala dinner, award ceremony, exhibition of the students' work and an IT recruitment fair to be staged in the fall semester. With a prize pool in the region of Dhs 150,000, the first place team is set to walk off with a trip to Cebit2002@Hannover.Germany. Other prizes include work placements in the UAE and abroad, state-of-the-art laptop computers and an array of hardware donated by our sponsors.

Our entrants will be draw from the following institutions:
Zayed University (Dubai and Abu Dhabi campuses), UAE University, Higher Colleges of Technology (male and female institutes-all campuses located at Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah, Al Ain), American University in Dubai and the American University of Sharjah.